


kissed

by gingergenower



Series: falling (slowly) [4]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Fluff, MJ Needs a Hug, MJ can finally walk again, Mutual Pining, Precious Peter Parker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 23:25:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingergenower/pseuds/gingergenower
Summary: 'What if she likes you?''What if she doesn't?'





	kissed

**Author's Note:**

> I convinced myself to finish this series before I started another project, I'm very proud of that

Bouncing on his heels and fidgeting with his shirt, Peter can’t stay still while Ned rummages through his locker. Ned’s still not quite forgiven Peter for the _Hello Kitty_ stickers covering three of his notebooks, but Peter’s barely paying attention to the jabs Ned’s sending his way, glancing at the entrance every few seconds.

He’s not really aware how distracted he is until Ned cuts himself off and prods him in the shoulder.

‘What’s up?’

Peter exhales, scrubbing his face. He didn’t sleep much last night- out late patrolling- and he doesn’t know much he wants to say. ‘Uh, ok… question. Do you think MJ likes me?’

Ned pulls a face. ‘She’s our friend. I know she doesn’t say it, but she likes both of us.’

‘No- _likes_ me.’

‘…our MJ?’

‘Yeah.’

Face scrunched up, Ned thinks, shutting his locker. ‘I don’t know. Why?’

‘I think she likes me,’ Peter admits, glancing at the entrance again. Class starts in five minutes, she can’t be long now.

‘…really?’

Peter rounds on Ned. ‘Dude.’

‘I mean, I would totally get it if you were Spidey. I could see that. But… you’re Peter Parker. She’s _MJ_. Don’t get me wrong, she’d kill someone with her bare hands for us, but that doesn’t mean she’s got a crush on you, that’s a totally different thing-’

‘She kissed me.’

Ned blinks.

‘Yesterday, I walked her home? She kissed me.’ Peter pauses. ‘Then she shut the door in my face, but still.’

‘…shit.’

‘Yeah.’

‘Have you talked to her?’

‘No,’ Peter says, glancing down at his phone. ‘I tried calling her, but she didn’t answer, and May says that isn’t the kind of thing we should talk about over text.’

‘Right. So MJ may or may not like you because she kissed you but you’re not really sure what it means because she hasn’t talked to you since.’

‘And she asked me to forget that it happened.’

Ned looks like he wants to forget the last two minutes have happened. ‘Girls are so _confusing_.’

‘I think that means she likes me, but for whatever reason she doesn’t… want me to think about it? Unless she was just experimenting? Like I could think about literally anything else, though- I asked a mugger on patrol about it while I was still trying to web him up.’

‘What if she likes you?’

Peter swallows. He kind of had a meltdown on May when he got back about that. She still doesn’t know about the superhero thing and he doesn’t want to screw this up like he did with Liz, MJ’s too important, and he was basically set on letting her down gently and telling her he’d rather be her friend. Then, May started telling him this story. 

Two best friends at high school went to the same college together, but they didn’t think they stood a chance with each other. They nearly missed their shot because Ben was too scared of her saying no and May was too scared they wouldn’t make it.

‘He was the best decision I ever made,’ May said, smiling slightly and kissing Peter’s forehead. ‘Him and you.’

Peter leans against Ned’s locker, banging his head back against it. ‘What if she doesn’t?’

Ned winces.

Eventually, Peter gives up on staring at the entrance. ‘C’mon, we’ve got to get to class.’

***

By lunch, MJ’s showed up in two of her three classes and the only thing she’s said to Peter all day is asking him reasons why the economy in the USSR was destroyed by communism.

In the canteen, Peter’s back to watching the door, fingers drumming on the table. ‘She’s not going to come, is she? She’s avoiding me. Why’s she avoiding me? She kissed me, I didn’t start this, I just want my best friend back-’

‘Maybe she thought she liked you and she changed her mind and now she’s embarrassed?’ Ned suggests.

‘Does that sound like her?’

‘Not really, no.’

Groaning long and loud, dropping his head on his folded arms, Peter wants to skip school and go patrolling. He can’t settle in class- agitated and worrying about her, because she didn’t show up to lit at all.

Is this screwed up? Did _he_ screw this up?

‘I don’t know how to fix this,’ Peter says. ‘I don’t even know what I did wrong.’

‘I don’t think you did anything wrong.’ Ned takes a bite of his food thoughtfully. ‘Are you like this when I’m not around for half a day?’

‘Have you ever kissed me?’

Ned nods. ‘Fair point.’

Sighing, Peter buries his face in his arms. This time yesterday she was reading at the table and everything was fine, everything was-

Well, no. Actually, it wasn’t fine. She hadn’t liked touching him. She’d been quiet. She’d been sarcastic and she’d read a lot and she’d snapped at Coach Wilson and Flash and her tone was different with Ned and Peter when she snapped at them.

Nothing was different, except she actually talked about how she felt for once and she nearly cried because of it.

‘Ned,’ Peter says, sitting straight up, ‘do you think MJ was acting weird yesterday?’

Ned pauses. ‘Not really, no.’

‘That’s how she always acts, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah. Why?’

Peter looks up, and MJ’s just walking into the canteen, nose in her book.

Snatching his bag up and vaulting over the table, Peter ignores Ned’s shout after him and marches right at her.

She closes her book, about to say something, but he ignores he turns her right around and steers her back out of the canteen and down an empty corridor.

‘Do you mind?’ she asks, eyebrow raised at him.

He turns to her, taking a couple of steadying breaths. ‘How long have you liked me?’

Choosing her words carefully, she doesn’t quite look him in the eye. ‘I’m not aware that I said I liked you.’

‘You do, though, don’t you?’

She doesn’t say anything, looking away, looking like she wants to be anywhere but here. It’s like someone’s drained her.

‘Why didn’t you tell me? We’ve been friends for months, how long-?’

‘You were in love with Liz.’

‘-oh.’

Peter could’ve been punched and it would’ve hurt less. Being near him must have been like being burned, over and over again, and he’s been hurting her the whole time they’ve been friends. 

MJ nods, and she’s crying but she doesn’t choke up with it. ‘Then, she wasn’t here, but you still liked her, and I liked hanging out with you and Ned and I didn’t want to mess with that and anyway, it’s not like you want- well. I’m not Liz.’

Peter’s never wanted to hold someone so much.

‘I told you to forget yesterday,’ MJ says.

‘Yeah, I’ll go ahead and do that.’

Her face crumples, shuddering in a breath and wiping her tears away with her sleeve. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I’m not.’

For the first time, she looks at him. ‘What?’

‘I’m not sorry you like me.’

She stares, as though trying to discern some hidden meaning; there’s no way in hell he likes her too.

‘Do you want to go out on a date with me? This weekend?’

MJ stares at him. ‘Are you fucking with me?’

‘No.’

It takes a few seconds for it to sink in. Slowly, she nods. ‘If your idea of a date is taking me on your internship you can forget it.’

‘I promise, Tony Stark will have no involvement in our plans.’

‘Good.’

Tentatively, he cups her cheek and touches away her tears. She leans into his hand, eyes fluttering shut, and then she blindly reaches out and pulls him against her. He wraps his arms around her and she clings to him, face in the crook of his neck. She’s still crying.

He’ll hold her as long as she needs him to. 

They’re stood for nearly five minutes before she lets go of him, calming down. 

‘Sorry that took me so long,’ he murmurs.

‘Mm.’

‘No PDA in the corridors,’ a teacher calls from the other end of it.

Peter snatches up her hand, and MJ glares at the teacher.

‘What a shame, we were planning on making out against the lockers next.’ She sees Peter’s face. ‘No.’

Peter grins, and MJ smiles, small and to herself. ‘By the way, I was thinking, I want to skip the whole “are we or are we not”, so I’d like to call you my girlfriend please.’

‘Ok.’

‘What pet names are acceptable?’

‘None.’

Peter throws an arm around her shoulders, grinning, and presses a kiss into her hair. He gives it a week before she answers to “love”.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for all your lovely comments on this series <3


End file.
